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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hide · last · chest · suit · snap · nail · cap · pitcher

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. cap — a lid
  5. last — final
  6. chest — of your body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cap — a hat
  9. suit — to fit
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. last — finally
  12. last — to go on
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. chest — a box
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. chest — of your body
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. snap — to click
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. suit — in cards
  22. suit — clothes
  23. cap — of ice
  24. nail — for a hammer

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com